Two dimensional (2D) barcodes are a compact form of holding information. 2D barcodes contain more information than conventional one dimensional linear barcodes in a given area. As a comparison, conventional linear barcodes get wider as more data is encoded, since data is encoded in the widths and spacing between printed parallel lines, whereas 2D codes make use of the vertical dimension to incorporate more data. There are various forms of 2D codes, including Data Matrix codes, QR (Quick Response) codes, MaxiCodes and SemaCodes. All use the same two dimensional principles, although using different encoding algorithms and different symbologies involving patterns of symbols such as squares, lines, dots, concentric circles, text codes hidden within images, and combinations thereof. The system described herein may apply to any such 2D machine readable codes.
As an example of how a 2D code is created, a Data Matrix code is a two-dimensional matrix barcode consisting of black and white square cells arranged in either a square or rectangular pattern. A white cell may be a binary “0” and a black cell a binary “1”, or vice versa. The Matrix also includes “handles” and “syncs” which are perpendicular lines used to allow machine readers to recognize the pattern so that they can be decoded correctly. FIG. 1b illustrate an example of such a machine-readable matrix code, while FIG. 1a illustrates an example of a QR code.
The encoding for data matrices is covered by an ISO standard, ISO/IEC16022—International Symbology Specification, Data Matrix, and is in the public domain.
2D codes have found a particular utility in the mobile telecommunications field, especially in convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users. In this regard, 2D codes, such as the ones shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b, can be used to store information such as contact information and/or URL addresses, and may appear in various media, such as magazines, on signs, business cards or any other printed or displayed form in relation to which a user may want further information. In this regard, the matrix codes in FIGS. 1a and 1b, with an appropriate optical reader, can be decoded to the URI www.vodafone.co.uk. The FIG. 1a code is a QR code, and that of FIG. 1b is a Data Matrix barcode.
In the mobile communication arena, mobile terminals may be capable of, or can be adapted to, read matrix codes. For example, mobile terminals with a camera associated with appropriate reader software can scan the image of a 2D code and extract the information contained therein. Where the 2D code contains a URL address, the software can cause the mobile terminal's browser to launch and redirect to the programmed URI. In this way users are able to effectively “click” on a barcode of interest with their mobile terminal and seamlessly connect to relevant online content.
This is particularly useful for users, as they can transfer to a relevant Internet site without having to manually type the URL address—which can be particularly cumbersome when the address is long, and even more so using a condensed mobile phone keyboard.
There are generally considered to be two types of URL address transfer approaches with mobile terminals, a direct approach and an indirect approach.
In the direct approach, when a user operates their mobile terminal to capture a 2D barcode image, and the phone's software translates the code into a URL, the translated URL directs the terminal's browser straight to the website at the URL address (e.g. www.Nike.com), with no interaction with third parties.
Whilst this approach achieves the desired result for the user, from a marketing point of view, valuable information about the user and their interests is available but not taken advantage of. In this regard advertisers are always interested in how a user arrived at their site.
To address this, an “indirect” approach has been developed, whereby the 2D barcode, for instance, specifies a network service provider site relating to a particular topic (e.g. www.vodafone.com/Nike_offer). The phone's software translating the 2D barcode therefore directs the user to this address on the network operator's server, where user information can be obtained, before that server redirects the user to a relevant site that is associated with the initially designated one, such as www.nike.com/Vodafone_offer.
This approach allows the network operator to determine which of their subscribers are interested in which topics/products and the like, and from there put together valuable marketing information based upon location, demographics etc.
However, the value of the indirect approach in gathering the information lies in cooperation between the different entities (e.g. Vodafone and Nike). That is, for the 2D barcode to be directly translatable as www.vodafone.com/Nike_offer, it is necessary for a cooperation agreement to be in place, and for manufacturers, such as Nike, to place such a 2D code on their products and/or in their advertising.
Further, the indirect method requires specific look-up servers for resolving mobile codes to be installed in the telecommunication operator's network. When a terminal sends the decoded information from an indirect code to these servers, they perform a look-up and redirect the user to the correct destination. When a network operator's look-up servers do not have knowledge of a specific indirect code, this requires code arbitration to be implemented in a centralized way to ensure that all codes can be resolved.
The indirect approach therefore has its limitations, as agreements cannot feasibly be made with the entire marketplace, and also the “indirect” 2D barcode will only be usable as long as the look-up server remains up-to-date in operation.
There is therefore a need for an improved approach for utilizing 2D barcodes in relation to mobile telecommunications networks.